On the Razor's Edge
by GrayKnight3445
Summary: An alien trader arrived in the Cyrannus System, and the destiny of man and cylon was changed forever. Two months later, less than twenty-four hours before the 40th Armistice Day since the War, a new and untried Colonial officer takes command of an equally new battlestar as the Colonies work frantically to adapt to their new situation as the smallest fish in a very large pond.


On The Razor's Edge

A Homewold/Battlestar Galactica Work of Fan Fiction

By GrayKnight3445

_Davis found himself sprawled on the floor, coughing from inhaling the smoke clogging that was clogging up the CIC. He tried to get up but failed and fell back to the deck as white hot pain shot up his left arm. He tried again and almost failed when two strong hands grabbed his uninjured right arm and hauled him to the C&C console. _

"_Thank you, major," he wheezed. The XO simply nodded as she applied triage to his injury as fast as she could before going to help another crewman lying on the deck. Davis cast his gaze around the CIC. Most of his officers had been thrown off their feet by the impact. Most were rising by themselves or with help from their comrades, but a lot of them weren't. Among the still moving was the Officer of the Watch, who was moving about the CIC checking consoles and consulting with the crew manning them._

"_Mr. Skarsgard, our status!" Davis barked._

"_We've got multiple hull breaches along our dorsal hull and we're venting a lot of air!" the dazed Aquarian yelled back. "We've lost contact with most of the ship including the starboard flight pod! All primary and secondary gun batteries are nonresponsive! Engines two and three are gone! DRADIS is dow- strike that, short range DRADIS is online!"_

_Davis looked up at the DRADIS screens. _Athena_, _Heracles, _and most of the escorts were gone. _Pegasus_ was disabled and being boarded. Only the Battlestar _Kshatriya_ and a handful of smaller ships plus the remaining vipers and raptors were still in the fight. The three remaining enemy carriers and their depleted strikecraft squadrons were focusing their efforts on destroying the remaining actives ships and taking the station, completely ignoring the few disabled colonials. A plan began to form in his mind. A plan that would save the _Kshatriya _but at a more than considerable cost._

"_Mr. Skarsgard, do we still have the forward launchers?" Davis asked, not willing to analyze what he was thinking least he come to his senses. _

"_Aye, sir! We have one Lightning Bolt and two Thunder Bolts armed and in the tube but our targeting systems are down!"_

"_Can we launch them?"_

"_Yes sir but without our targeting systems they won't be able to hit anything!"_

"_That's alright, they don't have to. What about Helm Control and FTL?"_

"_Helm's online but limited to basic maneuvers! Hyperdrive and Jump Drives are offline!"_

Damn it. Well, who wanted to live forever anyway?_ "Bring us about on an intercept course for the closest attack carrier! Maximum possible speed! Standby to flush the forward tubes and tell everyone left in the air to get clear of us and our target!"_

Chapter 1

Cyrannus System

Helios Gamma

Scorpia Orbit

High above the world of Scorpia a massive artificial construct floated in orbit. This human made object, known to the Colonies as the Scorpia Fleet Shipyards Platform Alpha, was a veritable hive of activity as vacuum sealed trains ferried cargo in bulk from the platform's expansive freight yard to the holds of the 62nd Battlestar Group. Around the platform squadrons of vipers flew on patrol as shuttles and other small spacecraft ferried personnel from the Scorpia Transfer Point and beyond to the armored leviathans that protected the United Colonies of Kobol. One such ship, a raptor, was making its way to one of those battlestars carrying her new commanding officer.

"So that's _Artemis_," Commander Gregory Davis commented to the pilot of his transport. "She doesn't look different than a regular Valkyrie-class."

"Didn't your parents tell you not judge a lady by her looks?" Lieutenant (j. g.) Boris McManus quipped. "She may not _look_ any different but inside that beautiful hull she's packing enough next gen tech to make even a luddite drool with geek lust."

Davis just shook his head. Since departing from the Caprica Transfer Point he had found that his pilot to be an odd individual with an even odder sense of humor. After his first crack his ECO, Lieutenant Gerald "Dandy" Conner, began apologizing profusely while simultaneously berating the pilot. After Davis explained that apologies were not necessary Conner calmed down but continued to glare at his pilot after every quip and crack, which only served to encourage him to crack more.

McManus saw the Commander's gesture and grew a mischievous grin in response as he keyed the communications panel. "_Artemis_, this is Raptor 662 on approach and requesting vector."

"_Raptor 662, _Artemis_. Approach starboard landing bay. Hands off approach. Relinquish control in one zero seconds."_

"Hands off, solid copy. Relinquishing control in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. We are hands off."

"_Copy, War Pig. We have control. Welcome home. Inform Commander Davis that the XO will meet him once you're on the deck."_

"You catch that, sir?"

Davis nodded.

"The Commander has been informed. See you in two minutes, _Artemis_. Raptor 662, out."

"Thanks for the ride, War Pig," Davis said as he went aft to gather his meager gear and effects around him while the automated systems landed the raptor on the elevator, which immediately began lowering into the belly of the flight pod, "and for the… interesting conversation."

"Thank you sir, I aim to please. Hope your time aboard _Artemis_ is as good as ours has been."

Davis nodded as the hatch hissed open. The second the air tight seal was broken the noises and smells of an active hanger deck assaulted his senses. Standing in front of the raptor was a tall gemenese woman with blonde hair set in a bun and a set of major's pips on her lapels. Davis stepped out of the raptor but did not dismount.

"Permission to come aboard?" he asked.

"Permission granted," Major Mara Aaronstein replied. "Welcome aboard the _Artemis_, commander."

"Thank you, major."

"Would you like to drop your effects off at your cabin before we head to the CIC?"

"No, I'd prefer to get the formalities out of the way first if that's alright."

"Aye sir, if you'll follow me."

The journey from the flight pod to the CIC was a surprisingly short one despite the battlestar's already tight corridors being packed with personnel rushing from one end of the ship to the other either carrying reports or cargo in hand as last minute preparations were completed. As the two officers entered the brain of _Artemis_ the watch standers and marine guards came to attention.

"At ease," Aaronstein stated, and the crew resumed their previous duties. The major approached the Command and Control Console that dominated the center of the compartment. She picked up two wired phones and opened the Main Circuit, which allowed the CIC to address the whole ship, and handed one phone to Davis. Taking a second clear his thoughts as he opened a heavily folded sheet of paper, he spoke.

"From Admiral Robert Hague, commander of the Scorpion Fleet, to Commander Gregory Davis. As of the Fifteenth Day of Athena's Month, Year 2131 After Kobol Exodus, you are ordered to proceed aboard the Battlestar _Artemis_, BSG-62, to take up the duties and responsibilities required as Commanding Officer in service of the Twelve Colonies. May the Lords of Kobol smile upon you and grant you their wisdom in your times of trials."

Davis took a quick, silent breath.

"Executive Officer, I have the conn."

"Aye, Commander. You have the conn." And like that, the Battlestar _Artemis_ was his. A rush natural chemicals shot through his body as that revelation hit his mind.

"Thank you. Officer of the Watch, please note this in the ship's log. I know there is still a lot of work that needs to be done before we leave the Yard tomorrow, so I will keep this as brief as possible. It's been an interesting two months since that alien trader appeared. Since that historic day our worlds and how we view ourselves and our place in the galaxy has changed dramatically. What has not changed is our duty to ourselves, our families, and the corner of galaxy that we call home. While the new threats that now face the Colonies can be terrifying to think about, we will not allow that fear to paralyses us when we are called upon to put ourselves in the line of fire. Thank you for your time."

"XO," Davis said after putting the phone back in its cradle. "Can you could give me a brief rundown of the refit and its progress?"

"Aye, sir. The new guns for the primary batteries have been installed and tested green across the board. According to the reports I've read they're longer ranged, more accurate, and fire faster than the old ones. Our missile compliment has been augmented with twelve of the new Mark 1 'Lightning Bolt' Anti-Shipping Fusion Missiles which should have a yield of about eighty megatons. The hyperdrive module has been installed and tested ready for our first jump tomorrow. And the new navigation program has proven to be more than satisfactory according to the crew I`ve asked."

"Thank you, Major. Unless there is something that requires my immediate attention I`ll be retiring to my cabin for the evening."

"There's nothing of import right now, sir. If there is I`ll contact you immediately."

Davis nodded his acknowledgment and took up his gear again. When he put them down again he had reached the small compartment that served has his quarters. The cabin was large enough to accommodate a bed, two tiered book shelf, a couch that could presumably comfortably seat two people and three uncomfortably, a desk and an uncomfortable looking chair, a closet, a bathroom with basic commodities, and several monitors and displays showing data about the ship's current activities mounted on the wall. After giving the room a once over Davis unpacked, cleaned himself up, and, finding himself unable to sleep, began going over the reports of the refit.

With the exception of the Command Navigation Program all of the new upgrades had been initiated after the First Contact event; which had begun when an alien starship almost as long as a Columbia-class Battlestar and more than twice as tall had appeared slowly moving towards Caprica at sub-light speeds from beyond the solar system. After a means of communication had been worked out the ship, whose crew identified their ship as a trade ship of the Bentusi Exchange, had introduced the Colonies to the galaxy beyond their borders. What they saw was both amazing and terrifying. On the original twelve worlds and the few extra solar colonies they maintained civil unrest was on the rise as the people tried to come to terms with the fact that they were not alone in the universe and that more than a few worlds out there had human populations with no obvious tied to Kobol or the mythical 13th Tribe. The Admiralty, on the other hand, had other concerns.

Since the Cylon War technological development in the Colonies had been retarded by a crippling fear of repetition of the darkest days of the war should the Cylons decide to restart the conflict, and while some advancements had been made despite their objections they still held back a lot of progress. However it seemed that the reveal of the kind of technologies that common place in the galaxy proper had sparked a sort of renaissance. All across the United Colonies of Kobol the old taboos were ignored as scientific fields once deemed too susceptible to Cylon infiltration were suddenly gaining notice and, more importantly, funding. Of course the conservatives and the old school military leaders roared and raged in protest but the ones who saw the writing on the wall did nothing beyond that.

In addition to this radical alteration of Colonial society the government was buying up as much alien technology as they could find. The most immediate implication of this buying spree was the upgrades to the _Artemis's_ primary gun batteries, the new missiles, and the hyperdrive module. The scuttlebutt at Caprica Fleet HQ was the _Atlantia_ as well a few other select flagships were getting more extensive upgrades, including ion cannons and some sort of instant fabrication tech, and that a new class of battlestar was in the works designed from the ground up to make full use of the alien technologies the Government was buying up. Personally Davis didn't put any stock in rumors but admitted to himself that given the current situation these two particular rumors had a higher chance of being correct.

Checking the digital clock mounted on the wall Davis decided that it was about time to get some rest before the first live test of the hyperdrive tomorrow. Eventually he did find sleep but found it to be all to brief and inadequate for the events of the next day.


End file.
